After beating Campbell 4-2 in its first away victory of the season on Friday, William and Mary couldn’t capitalize on its momentum and fell twice in Saturday’s doubleheader to go 1-2 in the weekend series.
The Tribe (5-12) started out its second match against the Camels (6-9) strong, as sophomore infielder Patrick Ryan got to third base with only one out of the board in the top of the first inning. But the next two College batters couldn’t connect for a hit, and so the Tribe fell just short of opening scoring.
Campbell took advantage of that lapse in their first turn at bat. Their first batter managed to get all the way to home without a single hit as he walked to first, stole second, got to third on a balk and then ran post home as a pitch was knocked out of the catcher’s control. That run put Campbell ahead 1-0 going into the second inning.
That single run sparked a scoring onslaught from the Camels. They put up runs in five consecutive innings, including five runs in the third inning alone, to inflate their lead into a 12-0 blowout heading into the sixth inning. Ryan getting to third in the first inning was the closest the College would get to scoring this match as it folded underneath Campbell’s deluge of offense.
Although the Tribe would keep fend off Campbell’s five hits in the last three innings to keep them off the scoreboard, the College itself only connected for one hit in the last half of the game. The Camels didn’t even need the bottom of the ninth to decide the match, walking off to celebrate their 12-0 victory as the College focused on regrouping for the second game of its doubleheader with the change of winning the weekend series still on the line.
Campbell was again first on the board in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader as they scored one run on two hits to put them up 1-0 after the first inning. But after a quiet second inning, the Tribe finally found the offense they’d been looking for all day as freshman infielder Matt McDermott, junior outfielder Ryan Socher and junior infielder Nick Butts all scored on three consecutive plays to put the College up 3-1 in their first lead of the day.
Campbell’s Matthew Barefoot successfully stole a base from the Tribe in the bottom of the fourth, eventually running home to cut the College’s lead to 3-2. But that was the only response the Camels would muster that inning, as Tribe pitcher Jacob Haney ended the inning with two Campbell runners still on base.
McDermott made a valiant individual effort in the top of the fifth, singling and then stealing a base to get to second, but both teams would be held off the scoreboard in the fifth inning, leaving the Tribe lead intact at 3-2. That lead lasted until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Campbell put up two runs to leave the Tribe trailing 4-3.
Junior infielder Colin Lipke got to third base in the top of the seventh after his own double and a single from Socher, getting the College one single away from tying the game. The Tribe was unable to find that hit, striking out without sending anyone home.
Although the College dropped both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, its strong performance Friday means that it will go 1-2 IN THIS WEEKEND SERIES.
Although relief pitcher senior Michael Toner held the Camels without a hit in the bottom of the eighth inning, the College offense couldn’t put up that elusive run in their last chance at bat. For the second game that day, Campbell would walk off victorious without having to play through the bottom of the ninth. Much like in the first game of the series, McDermott was the only Tribe player to record multiple hits in the match.
Although the College dropped both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, its strong performance Friday means that it will go 1-2 in this weekend series. With the two losses on Saturday, the team will fall to 5-12 on the season. They return home to play Lehigh at Plumeri Park on Wednesday.
